Emperor Dahlia....

mipeonyzone5August 16, 2007

If only my camera would actually leave purple flowers as purple instead of changing them to pink.....

This is actually a very pretty purple. This is my first year to Dahlias, and it's been a terrible dry year here. Luckily we got some rain earlier this week and this one decided to open up. My dahlias are very short and the flowers are much smaller than they're supposed to be. When I take up the tubers I will amend the soil and hopefully next year will be a better year for flowers in my yard.

Not being able to capture bright or dark purples is one of the greatest frustrations of photographing dahlias. Someone said to adjust the white balance on your camera, if able, but I have yet to find any adjustment that does the flower justice.

It does look parched there, but despite it all, you've got a nice flower for your efforts.